Girls soccer: Kaneland keeps on the offensive, beats Sycamore to claim Interstate 8 Conference tournament championship

In what seems like an annual tradition, the Kaneland Knights and Sycamore Spartans met in the Interstate 8 Conference championship game on Saturday.

The attacking Knights dominated in this contest, defeating the Spartans 4-0.

From the opening kick, the Knights were on the offensive, keeping the ball on the Spartans' side of the field for most of the game.

"It's chemistry," Kaneland junior forward Jade Schrader said about her team's attack. "Me and Brigid Gannon, our other forward, have been playing with each other since we were probably about 10. We've been playing with each other since we were little. I think that goes for most of the team. We've been playing with each other since we were super small."

After peppering Sycamore goalkeeper Tayla Brannstrom with shots for the first 15 minutes of the game, the Knights broke through on a goal by Schrader. Schrader knocked in the shot from the left side of the goal as the ball screamed all the way across the goal into the right corner of the net in the 16th minute.

"It's a rush," Schrader said. "The player's high is what we call it. You get that momentum and that energy, so right away you're off. After that there's no stopping."

Despite the 4-0 score, Brannstrom played strong all game. She was under constant pressure and delivered 15 saves to go along with a few big plays to stop the Knights' attacks.

Kaneland (12-4, 7-0 in I8) kept their attack on full force and hit the back of the net again with just under six minutes left in the half.

With the Spartans (10-8, 5-1) trying to clear the ball right in front of their own net, Knights' forward Hannah Boyer intercepted the clear out attempt and rifled in a point-blank shot to put the Knights up 2-0 going into the half.

"They were the better team," Sycamore coach Kevin Bickley said. "We knew we were going to be in a battle defensively. We gave up a couple of mistakes early."

It was more of the same in the second half, with the Knights keeping the Spartans on their heels with their attack.

The Knights added another insurance score in the 52nd minute with Emily Kunzer smacking the ball into the goal. Kunzer had been firing shots on goal all game and finally came through with a big blast.

"Honestly, Kaneland is a pretty athletic team and very aggressive team," Sycamore defender and team captain Anna Lochbaum said. "It's a good experience for us to play more aggressive teams and Kaneland is one of the most aggressive teams we've played so far. This just prepares us for future games and regionals."

Gannon put the final touches on the scoring with another goal for the Knights with just over eight minutes left in the game.